Space heater sparks fire; family pet dies

LAKESIDE  A fire blamed on a space heater damaged a Lakeside home early Friday and displaced a family of five, sending one person to the hospital and killing a family pet.

When firefighters arrived at the home on River Avenue off Maine Avenue about 3:30 a.m., flames and smoke were coming from the front bedroom windows, said Lakeside Fire Protection District Chief Andy Parr.

The three adults and two children at the home were already outside. Three dogs were also saved but a pit bull was killed, Parr said.

Parr said the fire started in the bedroom of a 7-year-old girl when a blanket, pillow or other combustible fell on an electric heater, Parr said.

The girl woke up and went to get help. Parr said that before she opened her bedroom door she felt it to make sure it was not hot — a lesson that she learned in school. “Just like her teacher taught her,” Parr said.

The quick and calm thinking of the girl may have saved her family.

Parr said it did not appear that the home was equipped with a working smoke detector.

“It certainly could’ve gone the other way,” Parr said.

Firefighters knocked down the flames in about 15 minutes. A woman at the house was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Television reports said the woman was four-months pregnant.

Damage was estimated in excess of $100,000, the chief said.

The Red Cross was called to help the family.

Parr said is important that residents using space heaters should not leave them unattended.